The Innocent Ones
by UnionJack-O-Lantern
Summary: When are the only times you don't want a gorgeous, black haired vampire guy sweeping you off your feet with plans to 'make you his' ? A. when you're already in love with Senri Shiki. B. when he's your brother. Rated T for mild swearing & OC-created incest
1. Nostalgia

**Hooray! This is my first fanfiction ever! Huzzah! But it isn't the first time I've posted it on this site :o when I originaly wrote this chapter, I had no word program on my laptop. So I wrote it on notepad, but notepad doesn't have spell check so there were sooooo many mistakes I found it hard to read. This is a very edited re-post and I hope you enjoy!****  
****THE INCEST IN FOLLOWING CHAPTERS IS STILL RATED T!! Nothing overly nasty will go on...other than the fact that no matter what it's still incest. AKA do not try this at home ;)  
Thanks to georgisakura, Rima4Shiki and shikixxrima for reviewing this before I deleted, edited and reposted.****  
P.S: Italics are thoughts, unless they're used somewhere inside quotations, in which case they're emfisizing a word.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or any of it's characters, all rights go to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

"Ahhhh!! Rima, your HOME!!" Mother squealed in the doorway just as I stepped out of the car.

"Hey, M-" She didn't let me have a chance to speak before she ensnared me in a tight embrace.

"Oh, Honey, I'm so glad you're home!!" Her sparkling deep blue eyes, my eyes, glistened with excitement. "Oh, Rima...you're so thin! Don't they feed you at school?"

"Yes, Mother." I grumbled. "Can you just let me in the house? It's 2 in the afternoon and it's really sunny. I'm going to bed."

Mother sighed "Alright. I'll have the maids leave your luggage outside your door, then, as to not disturb you."

"Whatever." I muttered and pushed past her.

Through the grand hallway, before the staircase, there was and opening to the mud room, where Father usually rested after business meetings for his company; I don't even know what it makes or what it does, just that it makes tones of money.

I peeked through the entrance. _Hmmm, he's not there. I was sure someone told me he took today off to see me come home from school. Oh well, not that I care. It's just school, not a big deal.  
_  
I trudged up the wide marble staircase to the second floor, where all of the bedrooms and most of the bathrooms were. My room was at the end of the long stretch of doors in the upstairs hall, which normally I thought was great because it made my room nearly the biggest room in out whole house, but right now it was FREAKING ANNOYING because it meant I had to walk even FARTHER before I could finally go to sleep.

When I opened the door to my room, I found it the same as I'd left it. Framed photos cluttered my dresser, half of my bed was covered in stuffed animals, the hook on my closet door still draped my silver silk, short kimono styled night robe, and my long dark curtains were still drawn to keep out the sunshine.

But I really didn't care about any of that. I. Wanted. To. Sleep.

I quickly locked the door and striped down from my clothes. I tore open the pajama drawer of my dresser and dug around for the least covering article of clothing. It was soooo hot today, I ended up wearing a teeny tiny little plaid nightgown.

_Oh well, it's not like anyone's gonna see me.  
_  
I drug myself to my huge 4 poster bed and flopped down on the covers. _Ug, too warm for blankets. I just sleep like this._

**Tap, tap, tap.**

_Ahhh! You've got to be kidding me! I just lied down!! Stupid maids._ I paused. _Wait...that sound didn't come from the door, it came from the...window?_

Growling, of course, I lurched off my bed and stomped over to the window beside my armoire _(yes, I have a dresser, closet and armoire, I have loads of clothes, okay?). _I pulled back the curtain, blinding me momentarily, and opened the window.

Outside of my windows ( there are 2 in my room) is a small peek of a roof, like the cover of a veranda. Crawling up, over and around the peek were ivy vines, not covering my windows, though. And sitting on that peek, covered in ivy, was a beautiful young man with rich auburn hair and enchanting silver eyes.

"...Shiki? What are you doing here?" I questioned, surprised to find a man outside of my window.

"Mother...is having an episode." He breathed, running a hand through his spikey hair and looking straight out into the yard. "She lost it on one of the maids and locked me out of the house." His cool, melodic voiced chimed in my ears, singing a sweet song inside of me.

_Shit, Rima, pay attention!_

"Oh." I murmured, coming back into reality. "Well, you know you're always welcome here." I pulled myself back into my room and walked to my dresser while he came through. "I think I have a something for you in here," I shuffled through the bottom drawer and pulled out a pair soft cotton, blue striped men's p.j. pants, then handed them to him.

"Rima, how is it that you always have something of mine on hand?" He chuckled as I unlocked my door.

"Ha! I _know_ you have some of my crap, too."

He shrugged. Shiki basically has his own room in my house - Not that he stays the night a lot (we go to boarding school so we're not home that much). It's a large guest room right next to my room and it's kinda dark, most of the textiles are either charcoal, pewter or emerald. My parents know never to let a guest stay there when I'm home, just incase Shiki comes over.

I sauntered out into the hallway. It took all of 4 steps to get to the his door. I twisted the handle to let myself inside.

Nothing happened. I tried again.

_What? It's...locked?_ "Kiko!" I shouted. Instantly, the young, spectakled maid popped around the corner.

"Y-Yes, Ms. Rima?"

"Why is this door locked?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Rima. The bath that's pipes run under these 3 rooms-" She pointed to the 3 guest rooms in my house - Shiki's, and the ones next to and across from his. "- Has a leak. The carpets in all 3 rooms are soaked. We're trying to dry them out."

"Oh, _great_." I complained. "_Thanks_." I waved a hand at her. She curtsied and scurried off.

I entered my room again to find the gorgeous teen lying on his side on the floor, wearing only the pajama pants I gave him, belly up, his hands under his head, totally relaxed.

No, wait, he was asleep.

_Well, I guess there's no point in telling him about his room, but still...he could have slept in my bed with me._ I sighed._ Maybe next time._

As he slept, my mind wandered into a blissful daydream. Seeing him there, totally at peace in all his radiance, handsomeness and partial nudity(^^); it boiled my blood, sent shivers down my spine, made my toes tingle with warmth. This was my epitome of an angel, of desire in all forms, lust, want, love, need.

I grabbed a huge pillow off my bed and gently slide it under his head. He didn't stir.

I lowered and sat cross legged beside him on the floor and continued reminiscing. Unable to resist the urge to touch his brilliant, pale skin, I brushed a lock of hair out of his face and tucked it smoothly behind his ear. Then, quite selfishly, I ran a finger down his chest, going over the bumps of his lightly defined abs.

I smiled. _Heh. He sleeps the same as when he was younger._

I remember when I first met Senri. You know when you were little, I mean really little; not even in school yet? That's how old we were.

It was the age where your parents would try and force you to meet other children, but you'd get too shy to even mutter Hello. You'd turn around, and hug your mother's leg, trying as best you could to hide your face from the other child. Your parents would make some cute comment like "Awww, she's just shy,' or 'We're learning how to meet new people'. That's basically how it went down every time with me, but with Shiki, it was a little different. In an awkward way, at first (in my opinion).

It was a warm, sticky day in August. My mother told me that she would take me to the beach to cool off, and so I could meet the son of a friend whom was around my age. The though of cool water intrigued me, but meeting someone new? Not so much. I wasn't much of a sand person, either. _This_ would be fun.

She forced me to go anyways, and it was okay; I mean, even though I was very intelligent, I still wasn't even 4, everything is fun at that age.

But then my mother called me to come back to her towel. She said we were going to move our blankets and umbrella and go meet this friend of hers...and her son. Of course, I stomped around brattily, complained about having to pick everything up and whined that I didn't need a friend, but Mother ignored me graciously and pulled me along the beach.

That's where I met him. Mother spotted them further down the coast and drug me to them. But this time, there was no introduction. There was no force. She and his mother simply turned and walked together to set up again, deep in friendly conversation. Without even a "play nicely' or 'don't go out in the water too far'.

We just stared at each other, me and the auburn boy. He was just the same as he is now, just smaller. Handsome, taller than me, even his hair was the same messy, tousled mop, the same deep red-brown color, too.

Suddenly, there was a sharp wind. The ocean breeze untied the ribbon of my ponytail (back then I only sported one) and it began to flutter away.  
I gasped as the boy caught it out of the air.

He held his hand out to me. I stared at it nervously. "Don't you want it?" He piped up.

"Oh," I slid out a hand and touched my ribbon in his hand. "Arigatou." I murmured. I kept my little fingers rested in his palm. Eventually, he closed his hand.

The rest is history. We saw each other practically every day. Even now, I feel empty without him near me. The first day we met, something must have clicked between us, like I wrapped my little hands around his warm heart, and his to mine.

I've often wondered if our relationship should turn even closer, you know, that way. Actually, that's all I've thought about for the past...year? And it's definitely gone through my mind a lot before that, too. I know it would...I don't know, complete my life should it happen, and I assume the same for Senri. But I worry about the stupid little things that could happen to ruin it, and I am afraid of losing him. Perhaps his feelings are similar, and that's why we've stayed like this; very, very closer-than-close friends.

Well, not anymore. I am going to bridge the gap and make my heart complete! I will finish the puzzle with his piece!

Later. First, I've GOT to get some shut-eye.

But before I finally gave up on being awake, I turned and picked up an intricately carved wooded picture frame from my dresser. It was a photo of Shiki and I taken only a week or two after we first met. It was still summer in the photo, near noon one day, we were both asleep in a field of tall grass behind his house. I was cuddled into his chest and his arm was draped around me, our shoes were no where in sight. At the bottom of the photo in permanent marker, it says : Senri + Rima, Cute Together Cute Forever! ...I can never look at that picture and not smile.

I sat the frame on my bedside table as I laid down on the floor beside Senri. I mimicked the position in the photograph, curling up close to him and lightly laying his arm over me.

Right now was like that day, too. It was summer, it was hot, and it was in the middle of the day. Sure, now we were on a carpet instead of grass, maybe we're about 12 years older, but it's still me and him, like innocent children without a care in the world except each other. Together.

As my eyelids fluttered, too heavy to stay open. I lay in his arms, completely content...and momentarily unaware that he was still awake, and sharing my pleasure.

Before I finally drifted into slumber, I _know_ I saw him smile.


	2. How To Enjoy Yourself In 5 Seconds

**Huzzah! Chapter 2! I'm so glad you stuck along for the next chapter :) I am forever happy for your company! Anywhooo...my thanks go out to georgisakura, shikixxrima and Rima4Shiki for their reviews and messages and also to everyone reading this right now because to get here you've probably read the 1st chapter and liked it!  
I promised to get this chapter out VERY SOON so here it is! It's soooo hard to find extra time between school and the novel im writing - BUT I DID JUST 4 YOU GUYS. HUZZAH. btw: if I fail any classes it's YOUR FAULT! LOL no I'm a good kid I wont fail c: but its made you scared for a second, huh?  
Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is owned by Matsuri Hino...but Kuro, Kiko and Hekeriki(ch. 4) are MINE! Mwah ha ha ha...:P**

Roll, roll, roll, - THUMP!

_Ow..crap! What did I run into?  
__  
_My eyes flickered open.

_Wood? OH RIGHT! I'm on the floor...this must be my dresser. _Clearing the cobwebs from my mind, I hauled myself into a sitting position, leaning on the side of the dresser so that I didn't tilt back over. My eyes swept over my bedroom floor.

_...Wasn't I sleeping with Shiki? Where'd he go?_

My question was answered promptly as my bedroom door creaked open. Senri slipped through and re-shut it lightly. Even half asleep, I was still aroused by his magnificent - still shirtless, - body. He was _that_ yummy.

Shiki turned and saw me propped up and awake - well, sort of.

"Oh, you're up!" He smiled. "Good evening, Star-Shine, the world says Hello."

"Star-Shine?" I scowled. "What the hell?!"

"Saw it in a movie...get up on the wrong side of the carpet or what?" He smirked playfully.

_"_Oh, so _that's_ how it s gonna be!" I laughed as I balanced myself and stood fully. Then I pushed him backwards with my hand on his chest. He hit the door with a soft thunk. I placed my other hand beside his shoulder as I leaned closer to him.

"Not so fierce when you're cornered, huh?"

He shook his head and sighed half-heartedly, his red mop swishing and swaying, letting his scent fill my nostrils.

It's hard to describe Shiki's essence. It smells clean and fresh, yet almost like a warm mustiness. It's like a perfect, comforting concoction and nothing else is like it. I get love-drunk in it.

_Crap, I'm love-drunk right now! FOCUS RIMA!  
_  
"D'you really think you can pin me this easily?" He mumbled, grabbing my knee from behind and wrapping his other arm around my shoulders. He forced my knee to bend and my leg caved. I fell backwards, taking him with me all the way down to the floor. His arm behind my shoulders cushioned the impact.

Now we lay on the floor, positioned quite amusingly. He slid his arm out from under my shoulders to beside my chest, propping himself up. My arms were stretched out as much as possible above my head, until I slid one around his neck, pulling myself slightly off the floor. His free hand still clutched the under side my knee.

_How much I enjoyed this moment! What could possibly ruin this? I sang with joy inside. Wait...someone walking in right now would definitely soil it!  
_  
I couldn't see around him to tell if anyone was at the door. "Shiki, did you lock the door after you shut it?"

"No, you didn t give me time."

_Shit.  
_  
"We ve gotta get up." I frowned at my own statement. He shared my expression. "...I know, but it would be just my luck if Kiko walked in right now."

He still wasn't convinced. Then, my mind clicked.

_Kiko...  
_  
"Wait a sec - where did you go before I woke up? Where were you coming back from?" I blurted out in a jumble.

"Uh- the washroom. I really needed to comb my hair - oh, I went into my guest room, too, looking for a shirt - "

"This is all wrong." I muttered.

"That I wanted to wear a shirt?"

"No, baka! Kiko told be the bathroom pipe was broken. That pipe runs under all the guest rooms - including yours. The carpets and bathroom floor should have been soaked!"

"Well, I didn't splash through any puddles, so..."

"I think we ve been played." I wriggled out from under him and leaped for the door. "Oh, and I wouldn t worry about finding a shirt. You should just go without." I giggle and skipped into the hall. He followed eagerly.

I bounded down the grand staircase and straight into the mud room. Lucky enough, both my mother and father were there.

"Rima-Aiko! Welcome home! Oh, Senri! When did you get- " Father began, but I cut him off.

"Where's Kiko?!"

"Rima, it s 8 o'clock. Kiko finished and hour ago!" Mother chimed.

"...and what are you two wearing?" Father coughed.

I looked down at myself.

_Damn it! - _I was still wearing my tres tres skimpy nightgown, not to mention Shiki was half naked himself.

"Say, you two haven t been doing anything inappropriate up there, have you? You look a little flustered, Senri dear- "

"MOTHER!!" I yelled.

"What? It's just that...well, you're not all _that_ covered up in those skimpy things and we heard some thumping and crashing up there -"

"MOTHER, PLEASE!!"

"Don't raise your voice at your mother, young lady!"

"Yes, _young_ lady! Much to young for any funny business-"

"Senri is a respectable man, don't go pressuring him into things- "

"We have _got_ to get you longer nightdress-"

"Stop it!!" I shouted. "Let's go Shiki. Thanks for nothing, Mom, Dad." I grabbed Shiki's hand and stormed out.

Once we were half way back up the stairs, clear from eavesdropping parents, Shiki began to laugh.

"Wow. I've never seen parents come to that conclusion outside of a movie."

"Gee, thanks." I grumbled. "_You_ try living with them."

I froze, thinking of Shiki's poor mother, alone and probably going insane. "Shiki, I'm- "

"It's fine." He smiled. I guess he didn't take it like I feared. "...Anyways, don't you think you should get dressed? You're up now so we could go do something."

"Random, but...okay." We walked down the long hall. I sent him into his guest room to search for clothes while I changed with articles from my own closet.

Trying to find something light enough that I wouldn't die of heat stroke, yet a little more covering than my nightgown, I ended up with a black lace camisole and purple dyed jean shorts. I walked into the bathroom (which was NOT flooded - btw Kiko!) and brushed my teeth. That's where I noticed one of my hair ribbons had gone astray.

Remember when I said that back when Shiki and I met, I had a ponytail, not pigtails? That's because Shiki gave me my second ribbon. My 4th birthday was only a week after that day at the beach, where he greeted me with the new accesory. I stuck a little red sequin on it so that I could tell them apart.

The one ribbon left hanging from my half pulled out pigtail had no sequin.

I quickly brushed through my golden-y orange hair and fixed half of it into the ribbon I had. Then I ran back to my room and started tearing things apart, looking for the special gift.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Senri's cool voice whispered into my ear. I looked up from a mess of hauled out dresser drawers to see him standing, dressed casually in jeans and a light T-shirt. His palm lay open and outstretched to me, bearing a little black ribbon with a shiny red sequin.

I stood quickly and put out my hand to take it, but I simply touched it while it rested in his palm. He closed his hand gently.

I smiled, he smiled. My heart beat quickened, my hand shook. Slowly, I started to stand on my toes and lean closer to him. He ducked down a bit and got closer to me, too.

Just before our lips met in the middle, a wailing shriek split through the silence. Instantly, he let go of my hand and we both bolted through the hall and down the stairs.

Mother and Father stood in the downstairs hall in front of the front doors. One door stood ajar. Mother trembled as she pointed outdoors. We flew past her and onto the outside steps.

Parked on the grass in the center of the semi circular driveway sat a black maserati, engine rumbling smoothly.

_His_ car.

"Get out of here!" I spat in the vehicle's direction.

"Rima, who_ is_ that?" Shiki whispered.

"The most wretched, messed up man on the planet." I seethed.

Slowly, the driver's door of the luxury car opened. A tall, attractive 19 year old boy stepped out onto the grass. His shoulder length black hair fluttered and his crisp cerulean eyes glowed. His smile was malicious and venomous.

"Rima, who is that?" Shiki muttered again.

The man chuckled a raspy, smoldering laugh.

"Why, she hasn t introduced me?" He purred a seductive voice. He began stepping closer to us. "Rima, Rima, Rima. Have you been so rude? Don't keep your little friend in the dark."

Closer and closer the beautiful man came. With each step I despised him more and more. How dare he come back here. How dare he even _think_ of talking to Shiki. How dare look at me so...affectionately.

"Well, since my darling Rima won't tell you, I suppose I'll have to introduce myself." He stared straight at me. "Tisk, tisk. What bad manners my little cutie has grown accustomed to. I thought Mother and Father would have taught you better. I know they did me; I just didn't listen."

"Mother, Fath- Rima, who the hell?- "

"I am Kuro." Kuro reached out and caught my wrist in his powerful grasp. He brang my hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. "Kuro Isamoto Touya. Rima's stunning older brother."

Shiki's face shattered. I opened my mouth to speak, but instead I cried out an awful scream. Kuro had tugged my hand even closer to his lips and slid his fangs into my wrist.


	3. Tremors

**Wow this is going really fast :P I guess when I get an idea I just keep rolling with it. BLECK You people are keeping me away from other projects! Selfish selfish selfish...*murmur murmur*  
random fun facts: Kuro is the colour black in japanese :) and Rima s dad calls her Rima-Aiko because Aiko is a japanese girl's name that means 'beloved one, little love'.  
****Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino, yada yada yada...but Kuro is MY sexy beast u can t have him XD**

Shiki snarled an awful, demonic growl, staining his beautiful, pure face. In seconds, he had Kuro's throat under his palm, digging his fingernails into the sides of Kuro's neck.

Slowly, Kuro released his grip on my arm and retracted his teeth from my flesh.

My head spun, my legs weakened. Even in those short moments, Kuro had taken _so much_.

I swayed limply and stumbled over my own feet. Shiki unhooked his hand from mt brother's neck and caught me before I hit the stone steps that we stood upon.

Kuro wiped his dripping mouth on the sleeve of his long, black, gothic coat. Drops of crimson seeped from small cresents in his neck. He pointed a long, pale finger in Shiki's face.

"That was a mistake, boy."

Slowly, Shiki laid me down on the door step. I looked at him with pleading eyes.

He didn't look back at me.

He stood quickly and swung a fist straight at Kuro's face. I closed my eyes before the impact so as not to see the result, but I sure did hear it.

Crackles of bones snapping like twigs crunched in front of me. Then, a stifling cry of pain. I gasped, a tear trickling down my cheek as my eyes burst open. My worries had been correct, because I knew, I recognized -

The wail was Senri's.

Kuro chuckled, a smirk smeared across his face as he stood triumphantly, Shiki's mangled hand still in his clutches. Kuro had caught the punch that had been thown and crushed Shiki's hand in his grip. Senri had fallen to his knees, only being held up my the arm still caught like an animal in a trap.

"Do you give up, rat?" Kuro sneered. Shiki looked up, panting in agony. Blood was splattered across his face. Where his eyes normally shown like the moon a dull, gray tone of hatred laid. The sliver had worn away to leave only stone; a hard, cold rock.

"Who," Senri coughed. "Do you think...you are?"

Kuro's maniacal grin faded. "I? I am her a blood relative; I have born entitlement to her! _Who_ do you think _you_ are?"

"A friend - a g-good friend." Shiki stammered, like he was unsure of what to say.

All the air escaped my lungs. _A friend? That s all you think of me, Senri? We re just...friends?_ I could feel my heart breaking beneath my ribs.

"A friend." Kuro repeats, smirk returning to his radiant face. "Well then, _friend_ of my princess, if you don't feel that strongly for dear Rima, maybe you should've just let me take her without a fuss."

"No!" I yelled, using all my strength to sit up on my knees.

A spark flashed in Kuro's eyes. He squatted down to my height (since, y'know, I was sitting), and leaned in close.

"Aw, don t worry, Sis. He's being a pain now, but I'll come back when he's not here." He laughed, his cold breath hitting my face and sending shivers down my spine. I collected myself, focusing all my energy into a powerful glare.

"I never liked you, Kuro."

"But I always loved you, Rima." He wrapped an arm around me fasted then I could move in my disheveled state. Before I could even scream, he'd forced his ice cold mouth on mine.

With the sitting position I was in and the weakness of my body, I couldn't even struggle, although I screamed on the inside. He let go after only a moment or two, but my feelings were the same.

He'd stolen something that I could never get back. Something that could be supplemented, but never recovered. He'd stolen my first kiss, the one that I knew in my heart I'd always saved for Shiki.

I gasped for air, clutching at my ribs. I couldn't breath between layers of tears and nautious dry heaves.

Shiki crawled to me, hand still horribly broken, but healing rapidly. He sat on his knees behind me and held my shoulders so that I didn't fall over. I was coughing and crying, screaming and having a COMPLETE breakdown. He slid his arms around my front to hold me tighter, shifting to sit cross legged and pulling me into his lap; all together making a close, stabilizing hug from behind.

My heaving slowed, my airway cleared, but my eyes burned, tears still flowing from the corners.

Kuro had returned to his car in the middle of the driveway. He stood outside of the driver's side, the door still open.

"Be ready for me, precious sister. I won't be so amicable to your friend when I return for you." He blew a kiss. "I will see you soon, _very_ soon." With that, he slid into the Maserati, revved the engine and peeled out of sight, disappearing into the mist of dusk.

My fit started up again, only 3 times worse. The heaving was replaced by violent shaking, even under the pressure of Senri's comforting arms.

"Rima - Rima breath." Shiki coursed. "Calm down, please, you need air! Try to stop coughing, Rima."

"I - he - "I inhaled sharply, "He - will - he will come - back - for me! Shi - Shiki - help - me!"

"It's alright." He soothed. "I won't let him."

I kept hyper-ventilating, clutching his arm that was slung around my torso. "Se - Senri, I -"

"You've got to get away from here." He swiftly kissed my hair, lightly making contact with my skin. "I'm gonna to take you away for a bit. He can always find you if you're here." His words were of no comfort. I'd already pushed myself too far.

I finally lost all the strength left in me, letting go of his arm and slinking sideways.

"Wait - no! Damn it, breath Rima!" He shook my limp body. "Rima? Rima, look at me!" The front doors, the stone steps, the jut out peak and bedroom windows covered in lush green ivy, Shiki's worried but magnificent face; everything I saw blended together as I slipped into unconsiouness. All I heard before I was swallowed by the cold, dark clouds was Shiki's cool voice echoing in my head. Then, Kuro's demonic laugh.

* * * * * * * * * * Are You Liking It So Far? * * * * * * * * * *

I slowly awoke with warm, fuzzy feelings everywhere. I began to register crackling sound of a fire, and of - something else?

My eyes fluttered open to meet the familiar sight of Shiki's room - the one in his own house. The dark, paisley wallpaper bore shadows of the warm fire burning in the fireplace. I was snuggled under the thick covers of his old fashioned 4 poster bed, across from the fire and beside his armoire and other normal bedroom things. No lights were turned on, the only glow was that of the fire, making eerie shadows of everything in the room.

Shiki sat in a cushy chair at my bedside, picking at his wounded hand. By the looks of it, it had been tended to, but he'd un-bandaged it and started to re-break his fingers. So _that_ was where the other snapping sounds came from. I swallowed the sick that had crept up my thoat at the thought.

I rolled onto my side, facing him. "Yuck." I whispered hoarsely.

He looked at me suprisedly, but smiled wanly. "You're up! How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I coughed, my voice broken. He turned, then handed me a mug from a bedside table.

"Rest your voice - here. I popped a couple tablets in it."

I slowly sipped the hot liquid. Coffee with artificial blood. Only Shiki could be so strange, I'm sure.

"What time is it?" I asked, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.

"3:00 am, roughly." He stated.

"Have you been waiting long for me to wake up?"

"Not really. I've been proactive." He waved his injured hand. "The bones set wrong so I had to...well, _re_-set them.

"I repeat, yuck."

He smiled. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

He stood up and leaped on the bed, landing very close to me. He pinned me down by setting a hand opposite my shoulder. I was surprised at his, well...closeness.

"Um...Shiki?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"Wha - whatcha doin?!"

"You said you were hungry..."

"Yeah, _hungry_, not, um, not th-thirsty." I quivered under him. I was like a stupid schoolgirl, getting all excited when the boys basketball team walked by. A stupid, stupid schoolgirl.

"Oh, riiiiight." He smiled, making me share the expression.

He reached over to that same bedside table and pulled onto the bed - of course - pocky.

"You're an idiot." I told him.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"I don't know, you just are."

"You're _sooo_ good at making a point." He smirked.

_That smirk - oh my god! I remember!_

"NO!" I screamed, falling out of the bed and onto the floor. I shut my eyes and covered my ears. "No! No! Get away from me! Don t touch me!" I yelled.

Shiki jumped off the bed and sat behind me, just like earlier. "Rima, it's okay - he's gone."

"No, no...he's never gone." I turned my face to see his, uncovering my ears and staring at him, tears running off my chin and onto my shirt. "He'll come back for me! He's not gonna stop hurting you until he gets me!"

Shiki rubbed my back soothingly as I rocked back and forth, probably swiftly loosing sanity. He touched my foot and I turned around to completeley face him, unfolding my legs and crawling into his lap. I wrapped my legs around his torso and hugged his chest.

He held me there as we sat cross legged on the floor. My legs hugged him, my arms hugged him, my face was buried in his shoulder as rivers ran from my eyes. He held me there as the memories flooded back and my patchwork emotions shattered once more. He held me there like he did when it was all happening, but now, we were even closer than the first. I was turned around this time, so really, I was holding him, too.

**Tada! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE review review review review review review REVIEW!!! pweeze?! c:**


	4. Like I Needed Aidou's Help

**chapter 4 already...seriously, your REVIEWS AND COMMENTS are keeping me on the ball with this story - even thought I would like WAAAAAAAY more of them hint hint nudge nudge!  
heads up: Hekeriki means thunder in japanese. I named him that because he was originally supposed to be Rima s cat and she can spark electricity, so it was like thunder and lightning...lol...bleck. bad attempt at a pun :c disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. Kuro Touya, Kiko and Hekeriki belong to me. :3**

3 Days Later; Monday at Twilight

Tonight was the first I'd stepped out of Shiki's house since my arrival.

The past 3 days had drug on and on. The panic attacks faded rapidly until they hit a complete halt - or at least I assumed they'd stopped. I'd only been awake for an hour or so today and nothing had overwhelmed me yet, so I suppose that was just an assumption. My fear of...well, _Him_, seemed to dissolve over time, as well, or at least, I started to forget about it. 'Very soon' hadn't yet come, and a glimmer of hope shone inside me that perhaps it never would.

Optimism, a first for me.

Shiki held my hand and guided me to the front doors. His mother followed us to the porch.

"Don't go too far, Senri. Remember, you need to water the plants before the solar eclipse or those annoying pixies will tear the shower curtain again!" She called pleasantly. Even in my predicament, I pitied Hita Shiki.

"Yes, Mother. We're not going far." Shiki purred, in an attempt to elongate her good mood. Hopefully now she wouldn't lock us out or anything.

Shiki led me around the house to the back fields of tall grass. The grass was long and dry, almost sharp to the touch, but Senri fixed that. He held out a finger to me.

"Would you care to?"

I lightly grabbed his hand and pricked the finger off my tooth. He smiled charmingly at my touch.

He swung the blood whip sharply, slicing the tall overgrowth and clearing a small circle to a normal height. I skipped to the opened space and lied down immediatly, flatening myself onto the cool earth.

"Mmm, it feels nice." I murmured.

"Strange, strange girl..." Shiki muttured with a chuckle. I tossed him a dirty glare.

"Meow." He mocked.

"Meow!" A real mew came from the tall grass. Then a slinky silver tabby cat appeared through the foliage.

"Hekeriki! I haven't seen you in, like, forever, buddy!" I sat up on my knees and scooped up Shiki's playful feline. I stroked his soft ears. "Do you remember me?"

"Meow." said the cat, nuzzling my chin. I patted him a few more times before sitting him back on the ground. Hekeriki swivled between Shiki's legs a few times before jumping back into the overbrush.

"Well that was fun for all of 5 seconds." Senri coughed dryly.

"I cannot understand how you could possibly hate that cat." I mumbled.

"Oh, he's friendly to _you_; sure. But as soon as no one s looking, BAM! He digs his claws into me and starts ripping at my leg or something!"

"That sweet pussy? Aw, come on."

"Whatever. I'm not picking him up and holding him close to my face, that's for sure."

"Oh, calm down." I reached out and caught his leg in my grasp, pulling at the bend in his knee. His leg buckled and he flopped down beside me.

"Nice trick." He muttered.

"You should try it for yourself sometime." I laid back, flat across the ground. "Whoa, Shiki, look how many stars there are tonight!"

He sighed and half laid down, propping himself up on one elbow to face me. "Ever tried counting them?"

I stayed laying, but turned my face to him. "Only that one time-"

"With me-"

"On my birthday-"

"Right here in this field-"

"A week after-"

"The beach. I see." He commented.

"...Does looking at the stars make you...think?" I ask.

"About...?"

"About everything. Life and death, maybe. Like, the things we think are so important now probably won t make a difference when we re dying and trying to look back on the happy things in our lives."

"Oh, yeah, I know what you mean now." He laid back down flat. "Mother always used to say, 'People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they'll always remember how you made them feel.' You know, in her...better days."

"How you made them _feel_..." I mumbled to myself. "Senri..."

"Mmm hmm?"

I bit my lip. "I know I shouldn't bring up memories on purpose;"

Shiki propped up on his elbow again, eyeing me curiously.

"But, when..._he_...was here, you told..._him_...we were friends, good friends, but still, friends."

"Rima..."

"No. I ve got to know...what you meant."

"Rima, I -"

A tiny, pixely ringing wafted from Shiki's pants pocket. He stuck hid hand in and pulled out a sleek red cellphone. He stared at the screen, apparently displaying the caller ID.

"What the heck...?" He muttured as he flipped open the phone. He didn't even get a chance to say Hello; by the look on his face I guessed the caller started spilling out conversation immediately; conversation that flew right over Shiki's head.

"Dude, slow down. You re not making any sense."

There was silence for about a minute.

"Well, what did you think was gonna happen? You can't punch a cactus and think you won't get stabbed in the hand."

I heard the soft buzzing of someone screaming on the other end. Shiki held the phone away from his ear momentarily. "Fine, we'll be right over. Just...I don't know, pretend you know karate or something until we get there -"

Momentary pause.

"Well of course Rima's with me! - Listen, do you want your ass saved or not?"

And again.

"Fine. Hold her off for 5 more minutes." He snapped the phone shut.

"Who, what, when, where, how, _why_?" I complained.

"Oh, the usual. Hanabusa was being a prick annoying Ruka, then he said something about her weight, or maybe her chest - I don't know, it was hard to understand him. He sounded like he was out of breath on the other line, I think he was running away from her or something. But I told him we'd try to rescue his dumb ass, so..."

"Can't Akatsuki do something about it? Everyone knows he's got it bad for Ruka."

"When does Kain _ever_ do something? He's probably there right now, standing on the sidelines watching it all happen." Shiki stood wearily and brushed off the back of his pants. "C'mon, get up."

I stuck my tongue out at him and rolled over. He grabbed me around the waist and lifted me straight up in the air.

"What the - HEY!" I shouted. "I was being contrary! You can't just disturb stubbornness at work!"

"Get over it." He stood me on my own two feet. I promply tried to sit again, but he was expecting it. He caught me around the middle and flipped me up over his shoulder.

"Damn it! Put me down!"

He started to walk, carrying me like a damsel in distress. He reached the front door of his home quickly, opened it, and yelled inside.

"Mother, we're...going to visit friends. We'll be back soon."

"Alright, sugar-bean. Don't eat the wild berries! Oh - should I tell the perfume bottles you'll be back by 11?"

"Fine. And it's the fridge magnets, Mother. The perfume moved out, remember?"

"Of course, cheese-muffin. My memory sometimes - I must be getting old! Pretty soon I'll go crazy, too!"

"Perhaps, Mother." He shut the door.

"I question your sanity every time you speak to her." I muttered.

"In the politest way possible; shut it and hold on." He sneered.

Then we were off. Shiki could run faster than anything I knew with a motor. His sleek, toned body pushed him forwards at absolutely impeccable speeds, even with little old me draped over his shoulder. That didn't seem to bother him, either - he could carry 110 pounds of bones and pigtails on a bad day.

We reached the Aidou mansion in minutes, even thought it was miles away from Shiki's place. There were no cars in the drive way, but lights were turned on in the house, indicating to me that the parents were gone but the kiddies were still home - and killing each other, apparently.

Kain was sitting on the outside stairs, looking very bored.

"Rima's legs broken or something?" he noted.

"Yeah, um, Shiki...?" I poked him in the back.

"Oh." He gently set me down.

"Much better, thanks." I smiled.

Kain opened the front door and stepped away from the opening. "Good luck."

I was first to go through. The entrance hall was a mess, as the rest of the house probably was. Tables and chairs were overturned, water dripped from the wall where it looked like a vase had been thrown and smashed and a few banisters seemed to be missing from the stairs railing.

Immediately, I had to duck for cover as another vase hurtled through the room. Luckily, it landed on the floor beside me instead of on me.

"Guys - finally!" Aidou fell through the doorway where the vase had been chucked. "Somebody, please make sure she doesn't get in the cutlery drawer!"

"On it." Shiki noted, pushing past me and heading for another doorway - to the living room, I think.

"No, I'll do that." Kain, too, pushed through.

'God, Kain! I thought you were leaving your own cousin for dead in here!" Aidou moaned. "Just go guard the kitchen!"

Shiki and Kain switched directions as Senri ran throught the doorway Aidou'd just came from.

"Rima! You ve gotta help me hide!" Hanabusa's eyes pleaded at me.

"What? Where the heck are you gonna hide?"

"That's what I need help with!"

"I'm not helping you! You deserve what Ruka's throwing at you - literally! Plus, when have you ever done something for me?"

"I let you eat all my pocky that one time!"

"Oh, _please_. I would have done that anyways."

"Pleeeease! I'm too young and handsome to die!" He crawled to my feet, still on his knees.

"You're so pathetic."

"Not pathetic, desperate!" He grabbed my hands. "Help me!"

"Get off me, Hanabusa!"

"You were always my favorite!"

"And what the hell does _that_ mean?"

"Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"No, really! I _love_ the way your hair shines in the moonlight and the rich, mocha brown of your eyes-"

"My eyes are blue, idiot!"

"Whatever! You're sooo pretty, Rima-chan, and I'll be your boyfriend and slave for life if you just HELP ME HIDE RIGHT NOW!"

"God, you're so aggravating!" I hissed. "FINE!"

" - Really? Oh, thank you, Rima-chan, thank you! I love you so much, Touya-chan!" Either out of excitment or to try and keep true the promise he made (the boyfriend part, which I really didn't want him to keep), Aidou put one of the hands he still held to his lips.

_He..kissed...my...hand. Just...like..._he_...did..._

A single tear ran down my cheek.

"Uh, Rima?...Are you okay?"

I tore my hands from his and ran out onto the veranda. I leaned over the railing, gasping to fill my lungs with fresh air. The tears really started to run, dripping off the edge of my chin and falling over the railing and into a flower bed below.

"Rima, what's wrong? Was it something I said?" Aidou followed my outside. "Rima -"

"Just stop it!" I exclaimed, spinning around, but still leaning on the railing with my back for support. "You are - are - SO CONCEITED! You have no clue about anything in my life - or even about _me_!

"Then tell me. Tell me all about you." He approached me with a swagger in his step.

_Great, just what I need in a crisis._

"Get away from me." I cautioned him. "Hanabusa, I'm warning-"

"Aw, you can call me Aidou-kun now, Rima-chan, since I _am_ your boyfriend."

"What?! No!" He crept closer. "I swear to God, if you even _touch_ me - " I began, but he'd pulled out one of my hair ribbons and entwined his fingers in my hair.

I had no other choice. "TESQUETAI!" I yelled.

"What? No, shhh, Rima! This is a good thing -" Hanabusa idn't even get through all of his bull shit before Shiki stood behind him, angrily breathing down his neck.

"Move your hand or I'll cut it off."

**SUPERSPECIALSUSPENFULENDINGTOCHPTER4!^^ p.s. tesquetai means 'help me' in japanese. A un autre temps, mes amis et lecteurs!**


	5. My Mistake

**Well, would you look at that! Chapter 5! Thanks to everyone for reviewing, x..pudding.X.x (or whatever your name is :P), PurebloodPrincess97, etc. Oh - and to my older sister, Shelby, who's not home right now because she's at college learning japanese(that's how I know what Kuro means and stuff). Thanks for the hypothetical 'Cookie of LOVE'.  
****Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is owned by Matsuri Hino. Kuro, Hekeriki + Kiko belong to MOI!**

**Be ye fantastical, story? Perhaps; thy must read to find truth for certain...ON WITH THE SHOW!!**

Aidou's face froze in terror. He whipped his hand back and spun around.

Shiki's hand flew up to Aidou's throat. He pushed upwards, holding Aidou just off the floor.

"If you ever even think about touching her again," Senri huffed large breaths, boring into Aidou's eyes with his...no, boring into his _soul_. "I will make it my goal - no, my _ambition_ in life to hunt you down and skin you alive."

"Alright, alright!" Aidou coughed under Shiki's hand, grasping at his wrist in an attempt to make him let go." I get it! I give, okay? Uncle uncle, what do you want from me?! Just let me down!"

Aidou fell to he knees as Senri released grip of his neck. Shiki hardly looked at the coughing teen, turning to me instantly; the shocked, angry, bewildered me.

Shiki's serious, venomous face softened at the sight of me. "Rima," He cupped a shoulder under his hand, forcing my chin up to look at him with a finger from the other. "Did he hurt you?"

"I want to go home." My voice was dead. The tears had dried up. The flashbacks of Kuro had no effect my mind - I could even think of his name, I could think all about him.

Kuro Kuro Kuro Kuro Kuro, my incestuous older brother of 3 years. Disowned from the Touya family at the age of 17 for that exact reason; trying to come on to his younger sister. Life afterwards for him had most likely consisted of feeding off drug dealers and entertained by brothel whores in a god awful trashy suburb somwhere. Kuro Kuro Kuro Kuro Kuro.

I restated my point. "I want you to take me home."

Shiki smiled. "Okay, we'll go home."

"No." I spat. "I want to go home. To _my_ house."

"That's fine, we'll stop so you can get a change of clothes." He chimed.

_How thick is your skull under that mop of burgundy hair? How can you not understand!_

"No, no, no, no, NO! You don't get it!" I screamed at him, at his caring face, at his seductive body, at his harmonic eyes. I screamed at the masterpiece that was him, and it made me feel...powerful. "I am going home. To my house, not your house, not Aidou's house, my house. With my bedroom and my bed and my EVERYTHING. I don't want to get a change of clothes, I want to stay there, eat there, sleep there - and I want to be there BY MYSELF. You will not come through the door, your will not come through the window, you will GO HOME and have a lovely, mental conversation with that self-hazourdous, insane wingnut you call a mother and leave me be for _5 seconds_!"

There was silence. Aidou was still on the floor of the deck, face frozen with shock and perhaps disgust. Kain stood in the front doorway with a dirty, disheveled Ruka under his grip, both sharing the flabbergasted expression. Worst of all was the hollow, broken look carved across Senri's face...

Or maybe, that was the _best _part.

"I...Rima..." He blinked. No one else dared to move. "Is that...really what you want? What about you know who -"

"Look. Kuro is my brother, genetics, flesh and blood. I can handle him any day of the week. Now, I ll leave you guys-" I flickered my gaze to shocked, beaten up Hanabusa, then to the others. "-To finish up your immature, unimportant quarrel. I'm walking home. By myself. In the dark."

"But-" I sliced a glare at Shiki.

In that split second, his expression snapped in two. Rage, frustration, and torment all burst from him at once in a loud ferocious growl . "Fine. Go thrown yourself away like bait, see if I care! Should something happen to you, you ll be one less thing I have to worry about 24/7!" His gentle face was not so soft. His quicksilver eyes stabbed at mine. His pale lips trembled in search of the right words. "In fact - I hope your god damned incestuous brother finds you shut up in your dark bedroom all alone; with a humongous bed, long, view-blocking curtains and 50 locks on the door!"

"Great!" I exclaimed. "I - I hope he finds me, too." With that, I pushed past him off the porch. Down the lawn walkway, down the drive, down the road. I left them there, angry, shocked, hurt, confused, upset. No one followed me, no one called 'Rima, we were only kidding! Come back! We didn't mean to upset you!'. But what did I care, anyways? I could feel the power pulsing through my veins. The adreneline, the overwhelming sense that I scared them. Hanabusa was Hanabusa; a little pervey at times but about as dangerous as a fat house cat. To see Shiki threaten him so...seriously...I felt it was too much. He'll be what he is and we can only refuse that to a certain extent. Even though the man I love was doing something heroic - for me - it made me frustrated, like he was just blowing off testosterone to prove he was manly enough to take care of me. I just wanted a little help to get out of a pinch, not a full blown action-thriller movie.

I'd blown off a lot of steam when I reached my house 20 minutes later. I had to admit; walking on the side of the road alone at night was way creepier than I imagined, but I made it through unscathed - running a couple times when I really got scared, but still.

The front door was locked, my second sign that my 'rents weren't home; the first being no cars in the driveway. I quickly let myself in with a key from under a potted plant - I was starting to get a little paranoid. As soon as I was through the door, I turned and locked every single one of the numerous mechanisms on it. I faced the hall and leaned back on the door, sliding all the way down to the floor. It was cold in the house, sign #3 of no one home. I was crawling to a thermostat when I saw a slip of paper on a small decorative table. I turned the heater knob and picked up the note.

_Monday, June 30_

_Rima-Aiko:_

If you are reading this, you've returned home. How nice! We've been very worried about you; not that we don't trust your strapping young man to take good care of you, but you never called! A little 'Hey Mom, Dad, I'm fine here at Shiki's!' would be nice, you know.  
Anyways, we've gone to visit friends down in the Kanto region. We'll only be gone for a day or two. Call us when you get this, your father brought his work cell phone.  
Hope you don't think we're bad parents! Kidding of course, dear.  
Love Mom + Dad

I crumbled the note and stomped up the grand staircase. _Hope you don't think we're bad parents. Yeah, right. Just hope your daughter comes home to see the note that says you left town!...strapping young man?_

I carried out my tantrum all the way to my room. I started to think of the others at Aidou's house tonight, those who weren't in the big speel. Kain; that lazy ass. He didn't do anything until the chance to talk to Ruka came in; and Ruka! If she wasn't so tempermental she'd just slap Aidou and get over it. It would have saved everyone a whole evening of fighting, arguing, and...and maybe I wouldn't be angry at Shiki right now. Maybe we'd still be in that field behind his house, looking at stars under the romantic summer sky, whispering to each other about the future.

The first thing I did when I entered my room; I ripped off my clothes. I dug around my dresser, through the racks in my armoir and closet. I wanted to find my nicest, fanciest, sexiest dress. I wanted to mock Shiki by prancing around in something that would surely drive him crazy(the brain of a man is found between his legs, you know) while he was not there.

I slipped on a short, silky white dress with satisfaction. I wore it once in a perfume photoshoot, I think. It had a thick halter top in the front and back, making a tear drop opening on my neck. The skirt went 3/4's down my thigh, with a slit up to half way on my right leg. The colour was of pure snow, with a black tie around my middle that bloomed into a bow behind my back. The dress was very form fitting, accentuating my small bust cutely. I was hot, seductive, beautiful.

I had nothing better to do than flop down on my bed. _Oh, if only I had someone to join me._ I though lustfully. Then I froze.

_Don't pity him, he deserves what you gave him for being so selfish!_ A little, evil voice rang in my head. I shook my head in an attempt to get rid of it.

In the thrashing, my eyes caught sight of a certain carved wooden picture frame. From where I lay, I could see the two little people snuggled together. My heart flipped. The voice screamed in agony and promptly died.

_What...have...I...done?_

I flew off my bed and into my dresser (literally, I slammed into it. Ouch...). My cell phone sat amongst tens more frames. I snatched it up. Low battery - good enough.

I dialed Shiki's cell number so fast, I fumbled a couple times. Finally, I got it right. He picked up on the first ring.

"Rima?"

"Shiki! Oh my god, Shiki! I'm so, so, so sorry! You wouldn't believe how much I hate myself for saying those things to you - "

"Rima, it's fine, forget about it. Now, what's wrong?"

"No, it's not all right! Senri, I never want to hurt you, I never should have hurt you like that!"

"Rima, please, just tell me why you are panicking."

"There - there was a note; my parents aren't here, they're in Kanto or something -"

"I ll be right there. Lock all the doors, Rima, and shut off all the lights.

"But - "_ Beep Beep Beeeeeeeeeep_. My cell phone died in my hand.

"...I'm scared." I whispered the end of my sentence into the useless phone.

"Don't be scared, my precious." I spun around. A tall, dark figure emurged from the shadows of a corner. When the moonlight cast from the windows hit him, I saw the full extent of his beauty. His rich, black hair, his shimmering cerulean eyes, his pure white teeth; especially his piercing white fangs.

I drew a breath. "K-Kuro..." I chocked out.

_No. This can't be happening! I don't want this anymore! I never really wanted him to come, I just wanted to be alone!_

"Rima," He cooed as he approached. "You look even more ravashing than usual. Did you dress up just for me?"

I backed up against the dresser. "Stay away from me, Kuro."

"You look divine in that dress, Sister. It shows off your alluring figure." Still he approached.

"This dress isn't for you." And it wasn't. Even though it was in bad taste, I'd put it on for Shiki.

"That's good then, I suppose," He smiled that evil, heart-sinking smirk. "Since I will be tearing it off you, anyways."

I pushed off from the dresser in the direction of the door. If only I could turn the knob, I'd be free down the hallway, the stairs; the front door was locked but I would jump out a window if I had to. I needed to get away. I needed to find Shiki.

I would not get as far as planned.

Kuro, with the agility of lightning, got to the door before me. My hands were still outstretched for the door handle; I had no time to reposition before I ran right into his arms. "Now now, Rima. Be good." He whispered sweetly.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled, trying to push away with my hands on his chest, but he had an arm snaked around my waist powerfully and a hand on my back.

"You were always a fiesty child." He chuckled.

"Kuro! I m serious, get off me!"

"But I am too, Rima. You will be my beautiful bride and I shall be your proctective husband. We will be happy and in love for eternity!"

"No! I DON'T LOVE YOU, KURO!"

"Of course you do, Rima. I'm your brother. Somewhere, deep down in a crevice of your heart there must be a warm place with my name tattooed on."

"No, there isn t! There is no place for you anywhere inside me!" I trembled in his arms. "Even if there was, it would be for my brother, not, not..."

"Rima, don t you understand? The way to keep a Pureblood line unsoiled is by joining relatives!"

"But we aren't Purebloods, and I'd never marry you! Please Kuro, let go of me!"

"Marriage is not the only bond to join relatives." He slid his arm from around my waist to the back of my legs and scooped me into his arms.

My heart skipped beats. My throat felt like it caved in. _Does he mean...does he want..._

"No, Kuro, stop!" He supported my legs with his free arm, now completely holding me bridal style. "Kuro, you can't want -"

He silenced me, and there was noting I could do to stop it. I tried digging into his arms with my fingernails; he had fails to restrain my hands; but it seemed not to make a difference. I tried to break away from his face, but he had my head pressed against his arm; there was no where to break away _to_.

He'd leaned into me, just like 3 days ago. He stolen the words from my lips when he forced his own upon them.

I couldn't move. All I could do was wait painstakingly until he released my mouth. Thankfully, he didn't take long.

Without another word, he leaped for the window. It stood ajar, obviously it was the way he had entered. Kuro pushed it totally open and slipped out onto the veranda. With a silent, powerful jump, he propelled off the roof with me in his arms. Frightened, disgusted, confused, ripped-apart-inside me.

With that silent, powerful jump, we disappeared from view of my home and into the black abyss of night.


	6. Not House Arrest, It's Couch Arrest

**Oh. My. God. Chapter. 6. So. Soon. Oh. Look. A. Ladybug. No. Don't. Step. On. It. Oh. You. Bitch. You. Killed. It. I. Hate. You. ~k****idding! I love everyone who reads my story, and there's no bug, I just thought that would be fun to say ;)**

****

As I wrote the middle+end of this chappie, I was watching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. You know what that is? Really? Isn't it awesome?  
Anyways, it made me think...this chapter was going to turn out differently, but now it's more touching than just rape-violence-rape-violence-rape-violence...now I see Kuro as Kadej but without the awesome silver hair and Rima as Tifa but without the epic warrior moves.

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER may contain ALMOST INCESTUOUS RAPE and SUGGESTED SEXUAL THEMES. Viewer discretion _is_ ADVISED...but somehow not expected.**

**Well, away we go!!...*swiiiiiiiish*......... *crash**boom**smack*_Alright, who put that wall there?! It ruined my grand exit!_*grumbles*...  
**

* * *

The dull candle light flickered all around me, glowing under my eyelids until I found strength out of sleepiness to open my eyes. Slowly, I blinked open to my foggy surroundings, unable to see clearly with the dim lighting and a sleepy mind. There must have been 50 candles surronding my limp body, their flames bobbing and glinting like paper lanterns hung on strings.

"Oh," I moaned as I tried to move. Cold metal dug around my wrists and ankles, and for some reason, my hands were above my head, almost as if they were being pulled that way. Faint clinking chimed at my movement. I lazily gazed up at my hands.

_...What? I'm...shackled?_ Even in almost pure darkness, I could see light from the dim flames glowing off the metal and chains.

My stomach knotted. My heart frosted over. My throat was raw. "Kuro." I whispered. 'I know you're there, Kuro. Come here."

A small gust of wind emanated at my feet, rippling the candle flames, but extinguishing none. "Darling, you've risen." His raspy, sensual vice purred to me.

"Where am I?" I ask, my voice a little desperate. I tried to regain control of myself.

"You don't recognize this place?"

"I can't see anything _to recongize_."

"Hmm," He murmured. "I suppose it _is_ quite dark, but the candles set a certain...mood." He laughed.

"But Kuro...kun," I chocked on my own words._ Just hang in there, Rima._ I told myself. _Make him believe that you want this_. "In this darkness...I...can't see your beautiful face."

And then there was light...well, a little more. I shut my eyes at first, but when the spots faded, I peeled them open, eager to find my whereabouts.

"Oh...no..." I gasped.

It was the cottage. My family's cottage. We were in the small, country-styled living room, I could see the open kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom - door hanging open. I was laying on the couch in front of the fireplace, shackles around my ankles and wrists, chained tightly around the wooden arms of the seat. The front door was covered in locks, at least 30 of them...I guess Brother had installed a bit of a security system. Kuro leaned on a wall, next to a tall lamp. _This_ is where he'd gone when he was disowned?

"..._Now_ you know this place." He smirked. "See, when Mother and Father kicked me out, I had no where to go. We have no immidiate family, as you know, that live close by and, well, I'm sure they wouldn't take me in anyways." He rested casually on the arm of the couch at my feet. "Apparently, I'm some sort of 'bad seed' - which I simply cannot understand. I haven't stolen, I haven't vandilized, I haven't killed anybody -"

I growled under my breath. He stared at me. "Listening has never been your best quality, Sister."

_Keep it cool, Rima. Just play the game._ "I'm...sorry, onii-sama. It's just that...I'm so uncomfortable in these." I lifted my feet in the air. "Could you...?"

He sighed. "Sadly, I don't think I can trust you enough to take off the restraints."

"Kuro, please, just my feet, then."

"Love, you're too rambunctious."

"Only my feet, onii-sama!"

"Rima-"

"Please!"

Kuro slid off the couch arm and crouched on the cushions, a foot on one side of me, a knee on the other. He held onto the armrest my hands were chained to, our faces at the same level. His body was almost pressed against mine.

"And what will get in return?" He murmured seductively, his cool breath engulfing my face in his sweet, head-spinning scent. His pitch hair hung down and nearly brushed my cheeks. His eyes were crisp, shiny and enthusiastic.

I hadn't seen him for 2 years, but at his present closeness, I could study many features. I called him a man, but being only 19, youth was still visable in his face. His irises were dark in colour, but his eyes were still bright somehow, and magnetic, drawing you in with curiosity and beauty. He was all-around undeniably handsome, attractive,_ sexy_, no matter how disgusting that sounds coming from me.

"I-I don't know." I muttered back. I stoped searching his face.

Kuro let go of the couch with one hand to cup my face lovingly. He lightly planted a kiss on my forehead(I seethed at the touch), then his hand and eyes traveled down my neck to the tear drop cut-out of my dress on my collarbone. With hardly the sound of a tear, he sliced open the front of my dress with his fingernails, neck to navel.

"Do we have an agreement?" He looked back up at me with lascivious eyes.

I winced, but gave in. After a moment, I nodded weakly.

Kuro smiled as he finished the alteration, ripping the fabric all around my waist. As he reached around my back, he pulled me close to him, lifting me slightly off the couch. His head pressed against my chest as he broke the zipper in the back to completely detach the top of my dress. Then he sprawled me back onto the cushions.

"Your heart is fluttering, Rima, I felt it. Are you nervous?" He asked, tossing the white scraps to the corner of the room. I looked away. "You know I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm just so..." _Play the game, play the game..._"Aroused."

_Aroused?! There were so many other words, Rima. Why aroused? Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Well then," He smirked again. "But, I suppose it's time to uphold up my side of the bargain." He lifted himself away from me and slunk off the couch and into the kitchen. I felt I could breath again.

He returned seconds later with an old fashioned key. He grabbed my feet and quickly unlocked the shackles, letting the locks hit the wooden floor beside the couch.

"Thank you, onii-sama." I mumbled, twiddling my toes to regain proper circulation.

Kuro walked around the front of the couch, still grasping my feet. He set them down on the floor and began to unlock my hands. Unfortunately, he wasn't un-shackling me, just loosening the chains a few rings so that I could sit properly on the couch. And of course, he sat down beside me and pulled me into his lap.

"I like this." Kuro flicked my black bra strap playfully, eying the lace cups attached to it.

"No." I tried to squirm out of his lap away, making the chains jingle.

"Why not? You are my sister and my bride, can I not touch you? Can I not show you that I care?"

"Not like that - and I'm not marrying you."

He sighed flirtatiously. "Here. I'll take off my shirt, too." With that, he (literally) ripped off his shirt, chucking the remanents to the corner with the dress scraps.

Kuro's arm muscles were defined and attractive, along with all the muscles on his chest.

_Why am I not surprised..._

"There. Now I can touch you and you can touch me." He brushed the tips of his fingers down my stomach.

"No, Kuro, stop it!" I grabbed his wrist with my shackled hand - mind you, it was very difficult.

"And what are you willing to give for that?" He raised one black eyebrow menacingly. His navy blue eyes flashed with an amatory sparkle. I could only shudder at what may have crossed his mind.

"Have you been here for the past 2 years?" I quickly adverted the subject.

"Yes." he grinned, his bone white fangs glinting candlelight. "And you never came to visit."

"Why would I purposefully-" Remember, keep him fooled..."I mean...how would I know that you'd come to the cottage?"

"Where else could I have gone? I've already explained..." Kuro's eyes glittered with...empathy? He seemed so sad all of a sudden. "That no one would've taken me in,"

My frozen heart began defrosting. Thank god Father had a tight schedule of business meetings through out the past few summers, or else we would have unexpectedly run into Kuro on vacation; where there was no Shiki to help me.

Shiki! The ice inside me melted even quicker at his image in my head. Senri, my Senri...he will save me, he will find me!...But how can he?

Suddenly, Kuro slid me out of his lap and got up from the couch. He walked to the door and paused, looking back at me over his shoulder.

"Rima...I know."

I looked down at my hands. "What do you know?"

"I..." He winced. "I know you don't want this. And I want you to be happy and be where you want to be."

"Kuro..." Another little piece warmed up.

"I am too much a selfish man to let you go. I have not grown the mind nor the heart to except that you deserve better and that you deserve to love and choose."

I stood from the couch, though unable to move far from it. My chains clinked. The piece got bigger. "Kuro-kun..."

"But I want to keep you safe. I want to protect you from the danger and hurt of the world. I thought that by secluding you from everyone but myself, you could live unharmed...and the pain _I_ endure of loneliness would ease," He combed through his shiny, raven's hair with his fingers. "Is it possible that the pain got worse?"

"Onii-sama," I pleaded. A full blown crack split through the ice.

"Rima, tell me - is it possible that subconsciously, I know what I am doing to you is wrong because it's for my own sake? Is that selfishness drowning out the feelings of your accompagniment that I wished for by kidnaping you in the first place? It all goes in a hopeless circle!"

"Kuro!" I exclaimed, almost in tears. "You're right about my feelings. But now you have shown me selfless worry and compassion, and I feel like I love you again - as a brother. You're right again about your feelings; your own sense of right and wrong is canceling the pleasure of my company, which makes it all a futile effort."

"Arigatou." He smiled warmly. "Thank you for understanding. I hope you understand, too, though, that I still cannot set you free." He stopped looking at me. Slowly, he locked every...single...lock...on the front door. "Even if you are barred in from the inside, it would take a while to undo every mechanism." He finished and turned around. "You can't leave me, Rima. I will catch you trying to escape."

"...I know."

His eyes flashed with excitment. He ran to me in a split second and wrapped me tightly in his arms. "Rima, I really do love you."

"...I know."

He held me back a little, as to see my face completely. "Tell me that you love me, too."

"I love you, too." I wormed my arms out from between us and put my shackled hands behind his head, the chain draping over his shoulder. "As a brother."

I felt the flames licking inside me as I pushed all my energy to my hands. Sharp volts of electricity sparks and snapped from my fingertips as I grabbed hold of the metal chain. A powerful zap surged through it, dropping Kuro to his knees in agonizing pain. I jumped away, trying to find anything to smash a window with. There was nothing within my reach on such a short leash. I didn't know what else to do.

"Shiki!!" I screamed. Right outloud. To whoever could hear me, if it was anyone at all. "TESQUETAI!"

I hit the floor hard when Kuro tore my ankle out from under me. I landed hands first at a horrible angle. I heard my right wrist snap.

Kuro advanced on me as I lie screaming. He laid on top of me and held me roughly to the floor. I could hardly move; I'd fallen on my stomach and my wounded, chained hands were underneith me. We were parralel; his head was above my head, his chest on my back, his legs on my legs and, with his height, even beyond. He was so strong...and so _angry_...

"Damn, that hurt." he growled in my ear. "You owe me now, Sis." He reached down to my hip and viciously tore off the remainder of my dress. Now I wore only a bra and underwear.

"K-Kuro," I coughed in agony.

"What? Don't you get it?" He whispered, pushing off of me to forcefully flip me over. I stretched my arms out over my head, incase he laid on me again. "Tell me your name."

"Rima." I spat.

"No!" He snarled. "Tell me your real name, your _first_ name."

"Shiro." I hissed.

"Shiro, right. Now tell me, what does Shiro mean?"

"White."

"White! Kuro and Shiro, black and white! Isn't that convenient?" He looked like he was going insane. "Can you see it now? Even at birth, Mother and Father knew we were meant to be together!"

"But black and white are opposites!" I screamed. "If you believe any of this crap, then why are you on top of me? We're _never_ going to be together! Get off of me, Brother!"

"Black and white - it's almost a saying! They go together like a pair!"

"We are complete opposites!"

"Sometimes, opposites attract." Then he froze. I waited, waited, waited...for him to speak. A grimace streaked his face.

"Your stupid friend is here. I must take you now." In a flash, he was on his knees, cradling me in his arms. He shifted my weight to one arm momentaily as he reached down and crumpled a section of chains in his bare hand..._damn, he's strong_. I was free to move away from the couch - well, not really, because I was in his grasps - but shakles still held my hands close together.

Kuro eyed the open bedroom door and jolted for it. He flung me on the quitled bed and, quickly but quietly, shut and barred the door (there was only 1 feeble lock on this one).

My head hit the headboard hard, disorientating me. Kuro whipped off his belt and undid his pants. He was on top of me quickly.

"I have to take you, Shiro." He cupped my face with one hand and stared right into my eyes, sneakily undressing me from the last feeble bits clothing I had left with the other. His voive was shakey and quiet."I have to do this. I'm saving you from being spoiled by someone you don't love."

An earsplitting crash came from the living room. Wood splintered and cracked, metal groaned and snapped. "Rima!" My dizzyness halted at the sound of the beautiful, familiar voice.

"He's too late!" Kuro whispered.

"No!" I yelled as Kuro forced himself onto me.

Then, there was pain. There was pain...everywhere.

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OHMYGOD NOOOOOOOO!! I bet most of you just screamed that! :) i'm so evil...  
oh - and here's another way I'm going to be evil - IF I DON'T GET **AT LEAST** **10 REVIEWS** FOR THIS CHAPTER, I AM NOT POSTING ANY MORE OF THIS STORY - AND YES, THERE IS MORE!! **and I don't want 10 reviews of OHMYGOD U BITCH HOW COULD YOU DOTHAT TO HER!! because that will not earn you another chappie or 2, either.**

**I understand and am perfectly aware** that this is **very upsetting**, but i will make it right! BUT - the only way i can do that is by posting more chapters and to post more chapters in need **AT LEAST 10 REVIEWS**! remember that as you review - I WILL MAKE IT RIGHT SO DON'T LEAVE A REVIEW ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU HATE ME...okay? Okay!:)


	7. I'm A 'Hot' Topic

**Drum roll, pleez.........*drums and trumpets and other magical instruments of happiness and success*TADA!!!!! CHAPTER 6!!!....WELL? WHAT ARE YOU WASTING YOUR TIME FOR? STOP READING THIS TINY LITTLE THING AND GET TO THE CHAPTER ALREADY!!**

**Enjoy the show(the long awaited for show)!

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**

Now was a horrid time to give up - give up fighting from Kuro; his power, his lust, his crazy beliefs of saving me from something worse. I knew I had to keep strong - but I was so _hard_. Nobody said a family reunion would end like this - not that I even _wanted_ this family reunion.

My eyes were glued shut. I didn't want to see myself exposed to him like this. My dignity was slowly dissolving, a little more vanished every second I wouldn t look at myself - my naked, vulnerable-in-his-presence self.

My wrist throbbed and splintered with pain, my legs and arms were sore from being held down periodicly during this cabin stay by Kuro. My head ached from smashing into the headboard, my ribs hurt from being chocked up so much it was hard to breath. There was pain everywhere.

But all of a sudden, there was an emptiness. Not an emotional empty feeling - like an actually something-just-disappeared sense. A felt the air hit my body...was Kuro gone? I was still braced for impact - as much as I could be in such a sudden, serious situation, but did Kuro actually...leave me here?

I reveled at the idea of seeing myself, but I was desperate to know...I cracked an eye open, then blasted both open wide at the shocking scene of - nothing. He _was_ gone.

My aching body screamed inside as I forced myself to sit up on the bed. My frantic eyes flickered to the door - it was ajar again. The one feeble lock dripped little crimson drops. I caught a whiff of it in the air - _Shiki!_ The blood whip must have sliced the lock! He was truly here to save me.

For what felt like the first time in forever, I smiled out of pure joy and delight.

An ear-aching slam emerged from outside the bedroom door. Through the slim crack in the doorway, I saw faint shadows in the dim candlelight of what was going on. It looked like a horrid fight of claws, teeth, fists and whatever you could fight _with_. I couldn't let Senri get hurt and I may've been the only thing that could make Kuro stop. Quickly pulling my underwear into it's correct position, I ignored my screaming bones and muscles and forced my body to and out the door.

_Smack_. They were constantly one on top of the other, ripping, tearing, hissing, punching and whatever else vampire men do, but all at an impeccable speed. Neither seemed to be winning, but both already seemed severely hurt. Kuro, who was currently on bottom, had slashes all over his sculpted chest and arms, and he was bleeding puddles. Shiki, almost sitting on Kuro now, was splattered, soaked and stained with blood, probably both his own and my brother's. A long tear scratched from his nose to his chin, that was the only visible wound, but there were obviously more under clothing and the layer of crimson.

"S-Senri!" I leaned on the doorway, body starting to give way.

He instantly looked up from Kuro. "Rima!"

Kuro leaned his head back. "Shiro!"

Shiki grabbed Kuro by the shoulders and slammed him into the floor, denting the hardwood. "What did you call her?!"

"Ha! You don't even know her real name?" Kuro laughed. "What a pathetic waste of skin you are!"

Shiki growled a rip roaring sound and pounded Kuro in the chest with his fist. I fell though the doorway and was on my knees, just feet away from the battle.

"Rima, did he hurt you?!" Senri's eyes probed me with concern. I didn't know what to answer. Hurt could be summarized a million different ways with me right now.

While Shiki looked at me, Kuro had somehow secured himself in a position that gave him the upper hand. He pushed off the floor and flipped them over. Now he was sitting on top while Shiki moaned in agony on bottom.

"Shiki!" I reached for him, but without my hand helping to support me, I crippled and collapsed on the cold wooden floor.

"RIMA!" Shiki cried again.

"I am getting very tired of hearing of your voice." Kuro mused, covering Shiki's mouth with one hand. His arm - the slashes were healing, on his chest, too. Shiki's face, the cut slowly began to stitch together. Vampire health: _convenient._

"Stop!" I tried pushing off the floor, but my wrist was still horribly shattered and I fell back down. That wound would take a little longer to get better, I suppose. _Inconvenient._

"Shiro, I am very sorry about this," Kuro dug into Shiki's cheek with his thumbnail from the hand on his mouth, circling to make a crescent tear on his face. "I'll finish him off quickly so we can continue."

"No." I whispered. I was flat on the ground, eye level with Shiki. We stared at each other, his eyes frantic, mine aching. The silver and azul mixing together was like deep blue waves of the ocean washing up on the light coloured sand of the beach. I saw his urgency, he read my pain. His mouth was still covered, my lips were coolly parted to speak. "No. Don't you dare touch him."

"Shiro?" The dark haired vampire whispered. Shiki flinched, but Kuro held him firmly to the floor, eyes still locked on me.

"Don't hurt Shiki because of me." I continued, slowly sitting up(hard with only one hand, but my wrist was _finally_ beginning to heal)onto my knees. "I will give you anything to let him go."

"You don't have to do this. I can kill him right now, it will be done with! -"

"Kuro, I'm _begging_ you. _Take what you want from me_." Shiki squirmed and fought under Kuro's hold even more.

"Shiro, I won't let you be harmed for the sake of this wretched person -"

"And what are you willing to give me for that?" I looked at him quizzingly. "Don't worry about my safety. Let him go, Kuro, and I...I will not fight your touch."

The deal was finally too much for him to resist. He stood(after almost being tripped by Shiki grabbing at his ankle) and came to my side, lowering a hand to help me up. "You will give me...anything?" He murmured, sounding almost ashamed that I should have to make such an offer with him.

"Bite me, lick me, kiss me, touch me, kill me." I looked up to his face and bored my eyes into his. A beautiful, handsome face who's bearer was quite stunned.

"Not if I can help it." Shiki's wounds had completely healed, fury and adrenaline pumped though his veins, his savage instincts rippled to all ends of his body. He'd risen from the floor and was positioned to attack. Finally, his eyes - then enchanting quicksilver did not harden into lifeless rock this time, but deepened with hatred, flashed, and glowed in an almost red light.

Wordlessly, Kuro retracted the helpful hand and charged at him. The impact made a piercing crack as(I assumed) ribs broke on contact. They were off again, smashing each other into walls, chairs, bookcases. They moved so fast that even in rough battle, they looked like smudges of colour dancing around the room. They kicked over many of the candles still flickering with flames, and I scurried as fast as I could on my knees to them before they caught something fallen from the walls on fire. As I crawled to an overturned candle by the fireplace, I noted that the hole was filled with unburnt logs.

An evil, almost sadistic idea popped in my head. All closeness I had come to feel with Kuro tonight(the little bit left that had not died when he prepared to bed me) had cloaked itself and hidden in the back of my mind._ I hope this hurts him_, I told myself inwardly, frantically grabbing books and papers that had fallen from shelves and ripping out their pages, tossing them into the pit over top of the logs. _I hope this hurts him more than he hurt me._ I threw a few of the lit candles on. Flames caught on the dry paper and spread across the wood. It cracked and snapped almost instantly, orange flames licking up high and eating the oxygen around them. _I hope he screams as he dies._

I held onto the mantel and pulled myself up to stand. My arms and legs ached less, my head wasn't sore anymore, my chest was clear, and my wrist didn't sting unless touched. I had healed enough to make due...enough to face my brother for what I yearned to be the last time.

"Kuro," I called. "You didn't answer my question."

And then I could see them again. The blurs stopped; they stood on the couch, each with the other's neck in grip, bodies still frozen in fighting stances. More gashes and splatters covered them; Kuro had tiny, but deep cut all over, Shiki's shirt was almost torn off, a long slash in his shoulder which trailed down his back.

Slowly, although under the power of Senri's hand, Kuro broke the vicious eye contact and glanced towards me.

"But...I can do it. I'll kill him right now, I have his throat in my grasp, Shiro!"

"Don't get cocky," Shiki snarled. "I've got your's too, mother f-"

"You will not hurt him." I seethed. "I will kill myself if you harm him."

They almost gaped. Both vampires were stunned into silence. Slowly, Kuro released his hold on Shiki and tried stepping off the couch. Shiki would not let hive get far.

"Rima, what are you doing?" My auburn hero stared at me with hurt eyes."

For once,_ I'm_ saving_ you_." My voice didn't brake, although I was beginning to get chocked up. I was serious, determined.

Shiki looked even more wounded than before as I reached my hand out to my brother, beckoning him to me. I think something inside Senri gave up as he let Kuro slide from his grip and into mine.

Once he was free, Kuro laid a hand in mine. I grasped his and shook it. "There. The deal is done."

"Great, but," He smirked that awful smirk...that remarkable smirk. "I think I would like your mongrel friend to stay a little longer." I was stunned with confusion, blinking a couple times at him. _...What?_ I though. Kuro half turned around to see Shiki, still standing in the couch cushions.

"What are you getting at, git?" Shiki stared at him intently, but with eyes the same as mine. Questioning.

Kuro casually looked back to me. "I want him to see what you'll go through for him." He smiled. _Oh no._

He spun me around to his other side, to face Shiki. He let go of my hand and firmly wrapped his arm around my waist. I couldn't move and inch away if I tried, I was securely pinned to his front. He lowered his head down to the side of my face, his pitch hair pressed against my cheek, as he flicked my earlobe with his cold tongue, then traced down my jawline. It all happened so fast, I could hardly shiver in time. Then, before it all set in, his other hand slid across my chest and dove under a cup of my bra. He wrapped his icy fingers around 'me' and I gasped, in shock of the action, in shock of the cold, and in shock of the slight pain to his strong hold.

A rip-roaring growl split through the cabin. Shiki sliced open his palm on his razor sharp fangs, threw a thick ribbon of blood straight at Kuro, and hurtled off the couch almost all at the same time.

I felt Kuro's cheek slide into another smirk. He let go of me waist and my 'front' and shoved me down to the floor, catching Shiki at impact. But the force must have been more than he was prepared for; they both flew backwards, Kuro's back striking the mantel and momentarily crippling him with pain before the both fell down into the hungry flames of the fireplace. Shiki on top, he held the immobile Kuro down on the seering, bubbling, hissing coals.

The blood-curdling screams didn't dull my sinister, insane feeling of content. My plan had worked.

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**In case you couldn't tell, this is all at the end of the chapter so that you cats could read the chappie faster and not have to drift through all my nonsense...**

**1 left to go! Chapter 8 is the Final Chapter! Ohmygod it's almost done! Aaaahhh! I'm soooo sorry this chapter took so long to come out! A few of you probably had heart attacks because I threatened not to post any moe! Sorry sorry sorry I know! Baka baka me!**

**I noticed as I read over chapter 6 that it never said Kuro broke Rima's chains before dashing to the bedroom. So she couldn't move 3 feet away from the couch and now she's thrown half way across a cabin?? It's fixed now, though. This is just incase anyone else saw that and though I was an idiot or something ^^.**

**Here's somehing else you may have notice - and I did this purposfully - hmmm, Rima doesn't complain about pain 'there' and it never says Kuro takes his undergarments _off_...in the end, was is rape or just attempted rape? WE MAY NEVER KNOW - dun dun duuuuuun!**

**Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino...happy?!**


	8. Playing with Fire

**Chapter 8 - the final chapter! OHMYGOD!!! This is so sad for me! It's kind of relieving, too, because I know I can work on other things now. I also feel very accomplished and quite proud of myself for writing an 22000 word Shima fic - on my first try! - but still, SAD because it's over! Waaaaaah! I really enjoyed writing this story, just something** **about how it came together made it super fun to keep doing. Oh, and the curiosity to see what would happen next - see, it's not just you!**

**I've gotten so many awesome comments on this story - even though getting to hear them was a little forced sometimes ;) hiyabe, I _really_ love this site. The feeling that people all over the world are reading your work...and overly _admiring_ it...ahhh...*gets choked up* Okay, j-just go on! Read it now!**

**Oh, and I'm SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY THAT THIS CHAPPIE TOOK SO LONG! It took even longer than ch. 7 did! This one was almost 4 weeks I think! That's ridiculous! I'm so sorry! And on the last chapter, too! C'mon me, smarten up! SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY!!!!!!! *begs for forgivness on knees while sobbing and clawing at your leg***

**Onii-sama= older brother (pronounced oh-knee)**

**nee-sama= sister (pronounced nay)**

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My breath shortened as I chuckled under my breath. They turned into huffs, then I laughed, than I fell over, clutching my side in hysterical laughter._ I killed him...I killed him! He's done for! Dead! I killed him! It's over! _I dug the nails of my other hand into the crack between floor boards, holding on. To the small remnants of my sanity, perhaps. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes as I laughed harder, harder, harder, my diaphragm aching and my lungs struggling to get enough air. _He can't hurt me if he's dead! I killed Kuro! I - _

I almost felt my pupils dilate**. **_I...I killed my own brother?_

Needless to say, the laughter stopped. It stopped dead in its tracks. Someone had cocked a pistol and shot it. I felt I could never be happy again, because someone shot my glee.

"Rima?" Shiki gazed at me with a hazy, disturbed expression as he called to me over the screams. He was still kneeled at the fireplace, holding the rapidly quieting, hardly struggling body on smoldering flames.

..._Senri, _I thought,_ You know I'm upset the same second I do. Please...never let me hurt you._

Those tears? They weren't glistening in the corners anymore; they were dripping, running, pooling from my eyes. Nor were they joyous anymore. They were mournful, regretful, self-hating, pitiful, painful, and sorrowful now. I clutched around myself even tighter, trying to keep the nausea down.

"Rima!" He released the whimpering body and hurried to my side. He laid a hand on my arm, but drew it back and swore under his breath.

"S-Senri?" My eyes flickered open, but my vision was blurred due to the tears. He sat close at my side, cradling his hands and muttering under his breath, rocking slightly back and forth. "Senri, are...are you hurt?"

He noticed me staring and crossed his arms, wincing when his hands touched his sides. "It's nothing. Areyou hurt?"

My eyes cleared and the tears lessened to a small leak. Being beside him...distracted me from my own self loathing.

The look on his face said he knew it would hurt, yet still he replaced his hand on my arm. Slowly, I pushed up on an elbow, staring straight at the hand. The skin on it and above it on the wrist had reddened and bubbled into a second degree burn, at least.

"Oh, Shiki..." I sat up fully and examined the burn. He must have been too close to the flames as...as he held Kuro down.

"Forget about it, really." He couldn't pull out of my grasp. I flipped it over to examen the palm. This side wasn't charred at all, a self given slice in the palm to release the blood whip was the only wound, and that was healing much more rapidly than the burns. "Rima, please, are _you_ okay? Can you breath alright?" I guess he'd noticed I still had an arm wrapped around myself. I unlatched it quickly, so that he wouldn't worry and, frankly, because being with him extinguished the sickness.

I ignored that statement and stared at his palm. Before my eyes, the slit came together, closed, healed and vanished. I smiled and looked up to his worried eyes. "Can you touch now?" I asked.

He flexed his fingers and balled a fist a couple times without wincing. "Yeah, but- "

"Good." I pulled his hand closer and pressed the palm to my chest, over my heart. His longer, pale, blood splattered fingers nervously spread out over my skin (no shirt, remember?), creating a warm tingling across my torso.

We were both quiet as I made him feel the beats. "This would have been broken if you hadn't come." I whispered. "How did you find me?"

"Scent." His insecurity vanished. "I've never told you this, but...your smell...drives me _crazy_. It's hard to explain. It's like...nature; the wild flowers, the trees and the leaves, pure. But like civilization, too; the fabrics, the products and the modern things." He blushed deep pink. I almost giggled. " It's all at the perfect level, a happy medium. Everything goes cold when you're not around me, it smells so metallic and dull."

Now_ I_ tried not to blush, at the compliments and at the coincidental similarities of buzzing off each others' scent. "Um, go on."

He relaxed. "I followed you as far as I could, slowly, so that I didn't screw it up. It was kind of hard, dodging all the trees while running so quickly, but I got pretty far...until I..." He closed his eyes and turned away, swallowing greif.

"What?" I pleaded.

"I lost you." He looked back at me, straight into my eyes. "I lost your scent. I lost the trail. To know that you were helpless and all alone with him...it was the most horrifying feeling in the world." He grimaced. "It must have been these stupid candles. There's, like, 50 of them! The god damn things must have covered your scent-"

"But," A groan echoed from the fireplace. We both turned in shock as Kuro, somehow still alive - somehow still able to _move_ - stood, well, leaned on the mantel above the firey pit. He looked like an animated corpse from a horrible fire accident.

The whole left side of his body was burnt, the scar covering his arm, chest, face, even the pant leg was singed. The skin looked to have bubbled as Shiki's hand had, but the pockets had deflated, creating caverns and holes and dips. Part of the bone is his forearm was visible under the thin, melted flesh and all the tendons in his hand were exposed. He was so...damaged. A thin stream of crimson began to run from "They set a certain mood, remember?"

"Oh my...god..." I gasped in horror at the sight of him, but more in shock towards myself, because I knew I had caused this.

Shiki growled under his breath. "Why can't you just die already, you son of a b- "

I squeezed Shiki's hand on my chest, but did not glance back his way. My eyes set on Kuro, my poor Kuro, ailing and suffering to survive...for me. I unclenched my hand from atop Senri's and gently moved it away, taking a knee and beginning to stand.

"Rima, no!" Shiki hissed, the hand replaced to my shoulder. I shrugged it off and continued upwards to stand. "Rima-" His long fingers now wrapped around the nape of my ankle.

"Stop." I finally gave him my eyes. "I can take care of myself for 2 minutes. Right now, it doesn't matter what he's done. Right now, he's my brother and he's hurt and he needs me."

Shiki stared for a moment, the slowly retracted his hand. I took away from him and quickly went to Kuro's side, both their eyes following me across the room.

"Shiro..." He smiled down at me, still a little taller even tough draped over in pain.

"You should sit, Kuro, that way you can't fall."

"Shiro, please..."

"Come on, I'll help you." Foolishly, I grabbed his arms in guiding him down. He seethed, eyes slamming shut as he fell to his hands and knees. The harsh landing on his burns made him gasp for breath in antagonizing pain. I didn't know what to do; it all happened so fast, and it seemed anyway he stood or laid he would be in pain. I couldn't even touch him without causing harm.

"Oh Kuro, I'm so sorry!" I jumped down to meet his stance, my hands hovering over his back. He was worse than I feared - burns took up more than half of his body, many areas were raw and probably getting infected what with being in this dusty, torn apart cabin, and...and the scars...almost all of them bled.

Kuro coughed, trying so desperately to utter a word. A light spray of crimson splattered the floor.

I held back my tears, tears that really deserved to be let out for him. But he needn't see me upset, right now he needed me strong for him, so bottled them up.

"Shiro..." He managed a few words. "I want to...lay down."

"B-but y-your back..." I started to choke on the lump seeding in my throat.

"I-" Cough, more blood. "I don't care about that anymore."

I just nodded and offered my hand. He knew it was going downhill fast.

He drew in another sharp breath when his sore back pressed on the floor, but he continued to completely lay out none the less. The burns bled even more when the skin tugged against the ground, spurting more oozing, delicious plasma.

"Heh," He smirked his infamous little smile as he eyed a crimson puddle forming around his damaged arm and shoulder. "Look at that, Shiro. Even someone with a heart as black as mine can still bleed red."

"Kuro, you're loosing a lot of blood - " I warned.

"Let it bleed. I deserve to die for what I've done to you." He shook his head. "I show up on your doorstep, steal you from your room at night, chain you up in the woods, strip you out of your clothes...and then your little buddy comes and I take a tear at him - "

"The blood, Kuro - "

"Why does it even matter to you? Why do you care for my life? You should be happy that I'm lying on the floor, in pain and alone, begging for forgiveness in my last minutes! I've hurt you and now I'm dying, don't look so sad."

"But...I don't want you to die!" I cried, eyes glinting over with tears. "Even if there's nothing I can do, I won't except you just leaving me! You'll always be my older brother, Kuro, my onii-sama, no matter what has happened between us. Just because I can't stop this doesn't mean I have to like it!" The bottom lid of my eye overflowed, leaking drop of salty greif down my face. I was practically leaned over his body, our faces equally. A tear ran off my chin and dripped onto his cheek below. He smiled.

"Shiro," He gently smeared his hand in a rapidly expanding puddle emenating out from under his back. He weakly lifted it to me, offering it to me. "Drink it. Lick it off."

"What?" I stopped looming over him and sat back down on my feet beside me.

"I want you to taste it." He repeated.

"But...why?"

He smiled wider, his face totally alight with pleasure. "You look a little thirsty." He laughed, straining for a moment.

I stared at his dripping fingers. I watched beads run down, spread over his palm, seep down his wrist...my mouth dried and my stomach clenched and screamed at me, "Take it, TAKE IT!" It had been a while...and...he wouldn't need it much longer...

Slowly, I wrapped my fingers around his cold, scarred palm and raised it to my lips. My tongue slipped out and I took a lap of the warm, sweet nourishment covering his fingers. It tasted like his kiss, but better. Jucier. Not forced. Almost...beautiful. I closed my eyes as the tip of my tongue traced in between his long fingers, searching for every last drop of him.

Kuro chuckled warmly. "Now I am forever apart of you." I finished and opened my eyes, holding his hand in my lap. I smiled and nodded again. Tears still ran.

"Shiro, what a kind heart you bere." He whispered. "Although I lay here now, a useless, burnt body, I am glad to be like this. I am glad you're companion did not totally distroy me, or else I would not have seen you this one..."He winced. "Last...time..."

"Kuro!" My tears were frantic, my grip tightening on his hand.

"We are like candles." He eyed a candle flickering beside the fireplace. "Our flames can be protected from wind and water, but not matter how well we are watched, eventually we'll just run out of wax and our wicks will burn out. My time is now, I believe. My flame is dying, and my wick is..." He looked to his hand in my grasp. "All burnt up."

"Kuro," I snuggled his hand against my face, then turned it to my lips and lightly brushed them across. "I love my onii-sama."

"I love my nee-chan, too. But remember;" He stared at the flaming candle once more. "It's better to burn out than fade away."He gave me his kind eyes one last time. "Don't let yourself be forgotten like I will be."

"I will never forget you."

He smirked. Again. "You're the good kid of the family." He leaned up from the floor weakly. I met him in the middle for a final embrace. Then he sunk back to the floor. He took a deep breath and relaxed. "If you need to, close my eyes when I've gone, won't you?"

"Anything." I choked up.

"There there, I'll watch over you, sis. And when you get lonely, I supposed you could spend time with Red over there." Another smirk. "That's when I'll be watching extra carefully."

That was the last time I would see his eyes, my eyes, the deep azul staring lovingly towards me. That was the last time I would see that smirk, that smirk that should be pattented, smiling for me. Kuro, my dear older brother, laid down and looked up at the cieling, towards te sky, the stars, then gentley shut his eyes, never to be opened again. The last sound he uttered, the last movement he made was of his lips muttering. "See ya, sis. I love you...Rima."

I let his lifeless hand fall out of mine, his cool skin went a little colder, and...I wouldn't have to shut his eyes.

As the tears poured down, as my breath got shorter, as I started to tremble, Senri swept over to my side. He pulled me into his lap and embraced me as I cried silently into his shoulder. Just like the times before, and just as comforting.

My eyes were glued shut, but it was all he could do to keep from staring at Kuro, finally at peace.

* * *

**Okay, I said this would be the last chapter. And it is. Kind of. The little index thingy where you choose which chappie you want to read next says that there is one more, and the little button with forward arrows meaning to go to the next bit is still there. Here's the deal:**

**I wrote this & the next one at the same time, and when I first posted them, they made one big chapter 8. But, after looking over it...meh, I though it should be split into two. Especially because wordwise, it was double my normal chapters and size wise, where I split it into two chapters was almost exactly in the middle of the one huge chapter. Also, the next chapter isn't still at the cabin-y place (where ever they are...hmm...) so separating it just seems to make it flow better or something.**

**Really, this _was_ the last chapter, there is only a 'chapter 9' because I split the last one. IF YOU HAVE READ THIS ENTIRE FANFIC BEFORE AND ARE CONFUSED TO WHY THERE IS A NEW CHAPTER, DON'T BE! YOU'VE ALREADY READ IT! IT'S JUST CHAPTER 8 SPLIT INTO 2 PIECES!!**

**Arigato! **

**_LostHazelEyes_**


	9. Words, Eyes, People, Places, Ribbons

**WHAT THE *****^#!$^&*^#$%****???? CHAPTER 9??? I THOUGHT THIS WAS DONE!!**

**It is!!! For everyone who's read the entire fic already, this is _not_ a new chapter. You all know how loooooong the final chapter (8) was, right? *grumble grumble, "yeah, I went crossed eyed and stuff" murmur murmur* well, this is my solution. Instead of one painfully long finale, I just split chapter 8 into two part, e.g. the creation of '9' that really isn't. You willl find that I did not just split the chapter randomly, it did it in the PERFECT spot, the separation of sad OMG I KNOW I HATED YOUR GUTS KURO BUT NOW YOU'RE DEAD WAAAAAH~! and WELL, LET'S CHECK UP ON OUR LOVELY LITTLE VAMPY MODELS, SHALL WE? I know, I'm good. ^^**

**Please, do not find yourself in the position of writing me a review asking me why I posted this bit as a new chapter if you've already read t on the bottom of chapter 8. Go back and check, it isn't there anymore.**

**For all who have not already finished this, HOORAY!! THE SUSPENSE!! YOU'RE ALMOST DONE! I CAN'T WAIT!! LET'S THROW A PARTY, THEN CRY BECAUSE IT'S OVER!! ^^**

**Matsuri Hino is the creator of Vampire Knight, not I, nor you, nor you. *sigh***

* * * * * * * 1 Month Later * * * * * * *

The sun shone high in the cloudless blue sky, boiling us beach-goers on the warm sand below. The water sparkled and shone, the droning sound of waves made a mellow feel on the day.

We we stretched out on a soft towel under the shade of a wide umbrella, Shiki and I. I, for one,had no desire whatsoever of diving into the freezing, soaking ocean like some people we knew (whom currently we doing just that), but we'd brought Aidou, Kain and Ruka along anyhow so that they didn't start up WW3 again in the Aidou manor (they really got shit for that, as you can imagine). As long as I didn't get wet or caked with sand, I'd share the beach with the Russian circus.

Shiki and I watched as Aidou fooled around in the water, eventually splashing Ruka from behind and soaking her whole back. I smiled. Shiki laughed.

"Well, at least they're outside this time..." He murmured.

I could talk about that night without worry, at least to Shiki. My parents...well, let's just say I don't think I can ever completely forgive them for a) not doing anything when Kuro first showed up. b) not even calling all 3 days I was at Shiki's basically in therapy c) being upset at _me_ for not calling _them. d_) leaving home when I wasn't there and only leaving a meezly note, and e) leaving home when I wasn't there and only leaving a meezly note when I was being stalked by my brother.

But in all seriousness, I'd actually told Shiki that he could ask whatever he wanted; before he got to the cottage, Kuro's last moments, how I was feeling now...I just wasn't upset. My heart didn't feel burdened. I think it was because I was there with him, listening to him pour out his heart and sharing in the emotion. I got to say goodbye to my older brother before he passed on from this world to whatever lies afterwards. And I know he is protecting me somehow, and guiding me.

I clambered a little closer to Shiki on the towel. He was propped up, back leaning on my bag, so it was easy to wrap my arms around him and lay my head on his chest. He smiled, and blushed a bit, but eventually snaked his arms around my waist, too. We watched the dramatic show of Ruka attempting to drown Aidou for a little while until Senri broke the silence.

"Rima, I've been thinking...could you explain the whole 'Shiro' thing? What did he mean by it being you 'real name'?"

I sighed and looked up into his metallic silver pupils. "When we were little, Kiko used to call me Shiro because Kuro and I were so different. Opposites, really, hence the whole black-and-white thing. Kuro always used to hear something, then translate it to fit a scenario. Shiro wasn't actually my real name, I think he got confused because I was called that so often. Plus, he looked at black and white as going together, so I guess he kind of convinced himself that..."

"That you two belonged 'together'. I see."

"Mmm." I chewed my bottom lip. "Kuro looked at everything differently than everyone else. He always found the metaphor in a situation and convinced himself that that's how things were to happen. Much that he said was confusing because of this. He just overthought everything. Really, he was a genius."

Shiki nodded. "Oh! Speaking of Kiko - I just remebered the whole "broken water pipes' incident."

"Oh yeah!" I huffed. "She's still got an open hand with her name all over it." I lifted my right hand. "Oh, right, well, maybe I'll use my left hand!" My right hand and wrist was still bandaged from the chained fall. The break was messy and was taking a very long time. Healing at humanity's pace, ick.

Shiki's smile twisted upwards at the end in an evil grin. "D'you want to pick up where we left off?"

"Whenever you're ready, Red."

Shiki grabbed my waist and slung me onto his lap, at the same time sitting up from leaning on the bag. He let go of my waist to place a hand behind him for support and the other in my hair, the ribbons falling untied. "You can be on top this time."

I placed my hands on either side of his shoulders. Between me leaning down and him sitting up, there wasn't much space between us. Good.

A quick gust of the breeze blew over the flat beach, picking up my fallen ribbon and blowing it away until it was no longer visable. _A little too preoccupied to catch it this time, huh Senri?_ I giggled inwardly.

"Uh, Rima...?"

"It doesn't matter." I smiled. "I saw it. It wasn't the one with the sequin, so I couldn't care less."

Shiki's devilish grin returned as he played in my hair with the hand. Then, his hand stopped moving and his expression went blank.

"I though I told you never to touch her again."

I turned to look back as best I could. Aidou was frozen, standing over me with huge handfulls of wet sand. _Was he gonna smear that on me?! Ewwwwww!!!_

"Hey - how come I wasn't allowed to play with her hair like that?" He fake-complained flirtatiously, winking at me eventhough he still held the mounds of wet dirt.

"Remember my new found goal in life? Don't make me try to skin you with a sea shell." Shiki warned menacingly.

"Fine." Aidou mumbled, dropping the wet clumps beside the towel and sulking back to the water.

I looked back down to the handsome auburn. "You wanna leave?"

"Yes. To somewhere less populated with dimwits."

I slid off his lap and pulled my clothes on over my bathing suit. Shiki'd been in his shorts the whole time(shirtless, yum!), so he readily handed me my bag and took my hand. I didn't matter that it was my broken hand because truthfully, Shiki made it feel better. We started off the beach when the others noticed our departure.

"Hey Kain, look! He's taking her somewhere!" Aidou elbowed his cousin.

"Yeah, so...?"

"So?" Aidou proceeded to make crude hand gestures with his pointer finger and thumb touching to make a loop and a finger from the other hand going in and out of the hole...

"Hanabusa, you're so rude!" Ruka scolded. "Don't you have anything else on your mind?"

"Nope, I'm a man! It's what I do!"

"Oh, a _man_, huh?" Ruka talked him into the water and attempted to drown him. Kain watched. We left.

Shiki's swung me over his shoulder again and bolted for his home. we stopped right infront of his front door. He quickly opened it and called inside. "Mother, I'm home. We're just going to the fields outback."

"Okay, Sweety. Have fun!" Hita Shiki's voice called back.

"What's with your mom? She sounds...sain - no offense."

"She's been seeing a doctor lately." He smiled. "C'mon!" He eagerly pulled at my hand, dragging me to his huge field of a backyard.

We ran until we were in the center of the field, far away from the house and almost perfectly in between it and the forest. He let me nibble his finger again, and out shot the whip, slicing a patch of grass short. He pulled me down to the ground, close at his side.

"Woah, over eager much?" I laughed. "Is something the matter?"

"Meow!" The silver tabby popped out of the tall grass again (impeccable timing that cat had). He rubbed my leg and purred loudly as I scratched under his neck.

"Hekeriki, shoo! You're ruining the moment!"

"Sorry kitty," I told the cat. "But Shiki doesn't want you to hang out with us. Go chase a bird or something, okay buddy?"

"Meow." Said the cat, then once again disappeared into the grass. I was starting to think that cat lived in this field.

"Moment?" I looked back at Shiki, raising one eyebrow playfully.

"Er - right. You caught that." He held my broken hand in his and stroked the back of it with his thumb. He fished in a pocket of his shorts with his other hand. "I know it's a few days early, but we're already on a nostalgia trip here, so..." From his pocket he pulled out a black ribbon, just like mine, but...different. There was a tiny sequin on this, too, but it glinted silver, just like his eyes. "Happy Birthday, Rima. Happy _16th_ Birthday."

"Oh, Shiki..." I was astounded by it, until... "Wait a sec," A sneaky grin spread across his face. "How did you know I'd need another ribbon?"

"Oh, I just know sometimes."

"You knew you'd untie my hair...because you'd play with it...you knew you'd kiss me!"

"It didn't go exactly as planned, but I think being in the field actually works out better." Oh, the sexy evil grin. "Part two of your present." He pulled me into his lap and held me tight, an arm around my waist. the other, yes, in my hair. My broken hand (feeling even _better_ now :p) was in his hair, as well, the other at his back. Whenever I needed him, it seemed, he held me like this. But this was a different kind of need. This was a hunger, a lust, a want, but the situation was still perfect.

That split second before we connected, the splinter in time before my mind and my heart and my feelings exploded like an atom bomb, his silver eyes glowed with excitement so eerily, so lovingly, they almost seemed..._blue_.

His lips were soft, warm, lush. We held each other so tightly that when one of us gasped for air, the other did, too. His breath was hot and sweet, filling my mouth when he separated my lips with his tongue. I had never done this before, I had no clue if he ever had, but our noviceness made it all the better. We attached, quickly detached to breath, changed angles, then attached again.

We sucked and stole, licked and pressed. I dug my nails into the skin of his back, earning a groan of pleasure from him. He pushed me back to the ground, grabbing my knee and hauling it up. I clung around his neck while he pressed down on me for more. It was delicious,easily 1000x better than I'd ever dreamed. It was real, it was happening. I. Was. Making. Out. With. Shiki.

And. He. Was. Making. Out. With. Me.

Your first kiss can be supplemented, but never recovered. Even with that in mind, this must have come pretty damn close.

When we were both worn out, he flopped down beside me on the grass.

"Damn." I gasped. 'Just...Damn!"

"I know." He panted. "You ever done that before?"

"Nope."

"Me neither. That was sure something, though, especially since we didn't know what the hell we were doing."

"Yeah," I turned on my side. "Shiki, lay with me. Let's be like we were in that photo."

"Sure." He smiled.

We kicked off our shoed and cuddled. I was snuggled into his chest, his arm was draped around me protectively and lovingly. He just laid there, enjoying each other's presence, enjoying the closeness. _...We just made out. Shiki and I just kissed. A lot. Oh my god...happy birthday to me. _

The sun was lower in the sky, casting pink and orange over the horizon. We were one now, we couldn't be separated. No matter what shit Aidou felt like playing, no matter how many more times I'd have to deal with my mutinous parents, he'd be at my side and I'd be at his.

"Shiki..." I whispered into his bare, sculpted chest.

"Mmm?" He murmured.

"If there was such thing as an edge to the earth, and I told you I was gonna jump off it, what would you say?"

He patted my hair, combing through it with his slender fingers. "I would say that I was going with you." He chortled a laugh. "And that I'd bring the parachutes."

I smiled and closed my eyes for a minute. "...Shiki?"

"Yes?"

"Are we still...innocent?" I looked up at him. His gaze was fixed on the firey sunset.

"I think so." He sighed happily, giving me his eyes. "I may have held a man down on flames, but for the life and protection of a loved one. You, I think, are guilty of nothing anyhow, you were just a victim."

"No, I mean...we _kissed_. Don't you feel...sexy? _Aroused_?" (That's a better place for it!) I ran a finger up and down his bare chest.

"Rima," He grabbed my shoulders. "I...I love you. And if that makes me a guilty man, then give me the death sentence."

Happy tears formed in my eyes. I was so afraid that I'd go through life and never hear those words. I suppose in that way, Kuro helped bring them to the surface. He brang me closer to Shiki be tearing me away from him. Now look at us, trembling in each others arms, spilling out guts and making out.

"I love you, too." I murmured, pulling up to him as we shared another heated kiss. The passion, the warmth, the expression..._Like I had my little hands around his heart, and his around mine...thank you, Kuro._

The setting sun painted the already stunning shades on the horizon even more vibrant. It looked to have set the trees and sky ablaze, and the fire...that fire was beautiful. It made me think of Shiki, how warm he was holding me, kissing me, loving me...but it also brang me back to my brother's last moments, how beautiful _he_ was, simply mislead and misunderstood. I remembered what he'd told me about the flame.

Even a burnt, used up thing has a purpose, a will, and a heart.

We are like candles; even under a caring, watchful eye we will pass away somehow, so don't fret it.

It's better to burn out than fade away.

* * *

**TADA!!! Well, I guess that's it!**

**Eeeeeeee I know this was a painfully long chapter, I shoulda made it into 2 but I promised this would be the last one! Also, I probably would have stopped this chappie after Kuro died and it would have taken another month for the very _very_ last chapter!**

**Once again, DOMO ARIGATOU GOZAIIMAS to everyone for reading, commenting, complementing, and just old giving your time and dedication. *gets choked up* omg it's done! Waahhh!! *finally just gives up and balls***

**You can read some of my other work, though! :D Just favourite me as an author and read anything I put up! Yay!**

**I STILL EXPECT LOTS OF REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER! :)**

**Sionara! _LostHazelEyes_**


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